By Naim Berjawi and Rania Abu Shamala
BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (AA) - Hezbollah urged the Lebanese government Wednesday to reject Israel’s threats to disarm the group amid fears of Israeli escalation in Lebanon.
“The national priority is to end the Israeli occupation of the territory from which the (Israeli) enemy has not withdrawn, despite the November 27 ceasefire agreement,” Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc said in a statement.
“The authorities in Lebanon must act decisively and avoid slipping into implementing conditions imposed by the enemy to humiliate our army and people and violate our sovereignty,” it added.
“The Lebanese people have the right to resist the occupation if it continues, and this is a legitimate right that needs no further validation.”
The statement comes as Tel Aviv has conditioned halting its attacks in Lebanon to the implementing a Lebanese government plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of this year, a deadline that is only days away.
Hezbollah called for pressure on Israel to abide by its obligations under the ceasefire deal “without delay or conditions.”
Israel and Lebanon reached the ceasefire in November 2024 after more than a year of cross-border attacks amid the war in Gaza. More than 4,000 people were killed, and 17,000 others got injured.
Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon in January but have only partially pulled out, maintaining a military presence at five border outposts.